Connection
by Ladedumme
Summary: Draco is in trouble and decides that the only person he can truly trust to protect him is Harry. How will Harry react to this assumption that he will help Draco? Warning: Draco/Harry Slash
1. Chapter 1: Unexpected Visitor

**Chapter 1: Unexpected Visitor**

Sometimes you just know that something has gone wrong. It usually feels like that little tickling feeling that makes itself known at the nape of your neck. It's usually the feeling that one gets when they hear a noise in the dead of night when they know for sure that they are the only ones inside the house. It is usually the feeling that precedes the dread that then goes on to course through your body. That is the moment that you realise there is every possibility that you aren't actually alone after all. This feeling is one that Harry was feeling tenfold whilst in his pitch black dream. Or was it a nightmare? Harry wasn't too sure that he could tell the difference anymore. He turned around on the spot looking for something that he knew was in there. There had to be someone in here, he just knew it.

The bang of someone falling through his windows and ending up sprawled upon the floor was the sound that woke Harry up. He shot up in bed, all senses alert and magic swirling around his body, ready to attack the intruder if needs be.

Cautiously, Harry turned his head towards the small patch of floor that was illuminated by the moon light. When his eyes caught the glowing blond hair of the person that fell through the window, Harry was unsure of how he was supposed to be feeling. He was relieved that the threat was not as big as he feared, but the moment that he got over that short-lived relief he was back to being wary again. What was Malfoy doing in his bedroom the night before they were due to go back to Hogwarts?

"Malfoy, what the fuck are you doing in bedroom?" Hard demanded, trying his best to keep his voice quiet so that he wouldn't wake Uncle Vernon, it may only be a day before he went back to school but that wouldn't prevent a beating, it would make him get more creative; Harry hated it when Uncle Vernon decided to become creative.

"What a great way to treat a guest, Potter. Learn that from Mummy? Oh, wait, she's dead isn't she? Whoops." Malfoy sneered. However, Harry could see past the façade, Malfoy was scared and desperate.

"I'm sorry, but I wasn't exactly expecting any company. Seriously though, Malfoy, why are you here?" Harry had decided that maybe if he was kind then Malfoy would act accordingly.

"I-I...didn't know where else I could go." Malfoy whispered, his mask breaking completely. He took a huge, deep breath and carried on, "All of my friends wouldn't have taken me in. In fact they probably would have killed me or taken me to the Dark Lord. I'm a deserter, Potter."

Harry ignored the way that Malfoy spat the word 'friends' and attempted to overcome the shock that came with that revelation. How could Malfoy be a deserter? Why? Why did he come to me and not Dumbledore, for protection? There were too many questions running through his head, so Harry decided to take a risk and ask Malfoy some of them.

"Okay, but why couldn't you go to Dumbledore?" Harry asked, swinging his legs out of bed and facing Malfoy who had his knees propped up, arms resting on them with his head buried in his arms.

"He wouldn't have trusted me Potter." Malfoy said, although Harry knew he was lying.

Harry paused before asking his next question. Why would Malfoy lie about that? Then it hit him, Malfoy knew that Snape was on the Light side and thought that Dumbledore would force Malfoy to go to his godfather.

"Why are you a deserter? What did you do to deserve that title?"

"The Dark Lord was going to give me a task, but before that he was going to mark me. I-" Malfoy's voice cracked and it sounded as if he was trying to keep the tears at bay, "I have seen people marked before, Potter, it is not something that I want him to do to me."

"I understand that, at least. Are you going to Hogwarts this year?"

"I was planning to, but I don't know that I can now. I might be killed in my sleep, for Merlin's sake."

"I don't think you should miss out on your sixth year." Harry decided to take a risk here, but he knew that it was definitely the right thing to do. "Also, how can I possibly protect you if you're not at school?"

Malfoy's head shot up from his arms when Harry said that, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He stared at Harry with an awed look in his eyes.

"Truly? You'll do that for me? But how can you protect me when I'm in the dungeons and you're in the tower?" he whispered, afraid that Harry was messing with him.

"I don't think that you'll be able to sleep in the dungeons Malfoy, it's too dangerous." Upon seeing Malfoy's dejected look, Harry quickly hurried on. "Look, we'll figure this all out in the morning for now let's just try and get some sleep. You can have the bed." Harry offered.

Malfoy slowly stood up and crossed a few steps to Harry's small, dingy bed, whilst Harry took a spare sheet from the cupboard and laid it on the floor. He curled up on top of it and quickly fell asleep as exhaustion overtook him.

For the second time that night Harry was woken up by a loud sound, this time it was Malfoy crying and whimpering in his sleep. He was curled up tightly in a ball with the sheets pushed to the end of the bed. His face, which was facing Harry, was scrunched up and had tear tracks running down it.

Without thinking Harry stood up from the floor and clambered into bed behind Malfoy. Wrapping his arms around Malfoy's vulnerable form, Harry dragged Malfoy towards him. The movement caused Malfoy to wake up and he turned around to bury his face in Harry's chest.

"Ssh, it's okay, I'm here now. Go back to sleep, Malfoy, go back to sleep." Harry murmured into his hair, pressing his face into those soft, blond locks.

"Please call me Draco."

It was so quiet that Harry almost didn't hear what he said. Almost.

"Okay, Draco, go to sleep now, nothing will hurt you while I'm here. Promise." Harry himself was already drifting off to sleep again, a grin of satisfaction lighting up his face.


	2. Chapter 2: It's Off To Hogwarts We Go

_I'm feeling good about this story; please help me not to abandon it._

**Chapter 2: It's Off To Hogwarts We Go**

As always, Harry woke up with the sun. He slowly blinked his eyes open, but couldn't see past the blond hair that he had his face immersed in. He inhaled deeply, taking in the citrusy smell of Mal-Draco's hair. Thinking about the previous night, when Malfoy said to call him Draco, Harry smiled to himself. There were feelings flooding his body that he couldn't explain or use words to describe. Instead of trying to make sense of them, Harry just bathed in them, letting each and every feeling wash over him.

After around ten minutes of basking in mysterious feelings, Harry felt Draco begin to awaken in his arms. When Draco tried to pull back from him Harry was reluctant to let go, but after tightening his grip for a few seconds, he let Draco pull away.

Hesitantly, Draco looked up into Harry's face. He remembered the nightmare from last night. It was at the Manor and he was running through the corridors, running away from Him. It was an awful feeling and what made him cry in these types of dreams was the fact that it could have easily happened to him when he was living back at the Manor.

Draco was nervously chewing on his lip and Harry was desperate to know what exactly was bothering him so much. _Was he having doubts about letting Harry protect him? Did he think that it would be better to be marked than to hide away in the tower without his friends?_

"What's wrong, Draco? Why do you look so afraid, did you have another nightmare?"

"No, it's," Draco paused to take a deep breath, calming his nerves, "I was remembering the nightmare that I had last night."

"Do you want to talk about it? I get nightmares all of the time and Hermione says it's good to talk them out, but sometimes I really don't want to relive them, so I'll understand if you don't want to talk." Harry stopped, realising that he was the nervous one now and it had caused him to ramble.

"I…no. I don't think I'm ready to talk about it just yet."

"Okay," Harry glanced at the clock and realised that if he didn't get up now Uncle Vernon would punish him for not having breakfast on the table in time. "Look, I've got to go and make breakfast, can you just stay here? I'll bring something back up with me for you, I promise."

Draco nodded and watched Harry walk out of the bedroom, wondering how he was going to occupy his time. Draco decided that for once he would follow Harry's orders and stay in the room. That ruled out getting washed as Harry most definitely did not have an en suite. Usually, this would have irked Draco to no end – after all who _wouldn't _have an en suite – but that morning, on the first day in September, Draco couldn't summon the right emotions.

Throwing himself back onto the bed, Draco peered around at the empty bedroom. That was an understatement, the room was less than empty it looked almost empty with only the bed that he was occupying, a tiny cupboard and a dodgy desk. There was nothing to identify the room as Harry's; it was like this was a spare room and Harry didn't exist. The emptiness was confusing for Draco as he had always thought that the Boy Who Lived had everything handed to him on a platter, much like himself when he really thought about it.

His perusal was interrupted as Harry entered the room, bringing the smell of bacon and sausages into the room. Harry held out a brad roll towards Draco with an apologetic look on his face.

"I'm sorry Draco, but I couldn't risk getting you anything more. I'm afraid that if I had they might've noticed and…done something about it," Harry trailed off, trying not to reveal any infinite details about his life at the Dursley's home. He still didn't understand why he couldn't go to Grimmauld Place with Remus and Sirius every summer, but every time he asked Dumbledore refused and said that he needed to stay behind the blood wards at the Dursley's.

"Harry?" Draco enquired, seeing that Harry had a glazed look in his eyes, indicating he was far away in his mind.

Hearing Draco's voice snapped Harry out of his thoughts, it was a good thing too as Harry could feel the righteous rage building slowly and creating a low, but harsh-sounding breeze that jostled his hair. After taking deep breaths to calm himself down, Harry once again focused all of his attention on the blond standing in front of him, waiting patiently.

"Sorry, I sometimes end up getting a bit caught up in my thoughts," Harry apologised, a self-depreciating smile on his face.

"No, it's fine, I do it too." Draco hesitated, trying to decide whether or not it was wise to ask the next question that he wanted to. He rushed on, deciding that nothing truly bad could come of a measly question, "What had you so lost in your thoughts?"

"Dumbledore." Harry stated and elaborated upon seeing Draco's curious expression. "He refused to let me stay with my Father and his partner. By the way Draco," Harry carried on when he saw that Draco was going to tell him that James wasn't alive, "I refer to my godfather as 'Father' because he blood adopted me, he knew that Remy and him couldn't have any kids so he blood adopted me, effectively making me heir of the House of Black as well as the House of Potter."

"Oh, I didn't expect you to actually tell me that. But, why wouldn't the Headmaster let you stay with your…Father?" Draco hesitated on the name, unsure of how it made him feel to say the word again after running.

"He…actually that is a good question. He said it was for my own protection, but he let me go to the Weasley's over my birthday. I could have gone to Grim-, sorry Draco Fidelius Charm; I could have gone to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black for at least a few days…" Harry rambled, still muttering under his breath about the injustice of it all.

"Maybe…"

"Maybe what Draco? It's okay I won't go on a rampage for a suggestion," Harry said, reading the hesitation on the blonde's face correctly.

"It's just that…maybe you can't trust Dumbledore. I mean what if he's trying to keep you away from your Father because he knows that he'll have no control over you if you do end up with him?" Draco voiced his thoughts, hesitantly.

"That's…actually Draco I think you might be right. Give me a second?" Harry asked, walking towards the seriously outdated desk and pulling open a draw.

Draco nodded and watched with curiosity as Harry pulled out something that was wrapped up in a black silk handkerchief. As Harry reverently pulled out the object Draco realised that it was a mirror. Draco's jaw almost dropped when he saw the intricate carving of the Black crest on the back of the mirror. He could just about make out the family motto below the emblem: 'Toujours Pur', meaning always pure.

Draco jumped when he heard Harry whisper to the mirror as he was so intent on admiring the artwork in Harry's hands.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good. Padfoot." Harry whispered, waiting for his Father to answer his call, Harry just hoped that he didn't catch him and Moony in the middle of something again. He shivered and tried to put the memory of catching them out of his mind.

"Hey, Pup." Sirius answered, making Draco jump once again.

"Padfoot, someone suggested to me something that I think is probably quite true." He went on after seeing Sirius nod and wait for more information to be given, "I–do you think that Dumbledore is maybe not trustworthy? It's just that, well, in first year I fought Voldemort, second people were being petrified left, right and centre, third we were almost killed by Dementors, fourth I had to do the Triwizard Tournament where the cup was made into a portkey and fifth we had that fight in the Ministry against the Death Eaters." Harry listed.

"I couldn't agree with you more, Pup." Sirius said, eyes burning with the vicious need for revenge, "However, we must be careful who exactly we discuss this with, I don't even want you to discuss it with Hermione and Ron, this stays between me, you and Remus. Understand, Pup?"

Harry shifted a little and glanced briefly at Draco, who was still baffled at what the mirror was for. Sirius saw this and turned his face to the side as if he could see Draco. He turned his face back to look at Harry and lifted an eyebrow, waiting for an answer.

"Well, you see, Sirius, er…" Harry stuttered, unsure of how exactly to tell his Father that his arch nemesis and son of a known Death Eater was sitting on his bed.

"Harry? Who is in that room with you?"

"Draco." Harry whispered, dreading the explosive reaction he knew would surely be coming his way.

"MALFOY?! You mean to say that Draco Malfoy is in the room and you called me without making sure he didn't see?! Harry how could you be so foolish? He's the son of a Death Eater! Fuck, it wouldn't surprise me if Lucius had him marked over the summer! How the bloody fuck did he even end up there?!" Sirius raved.

"Siri, just let him explain, he has to have a reason for him being there, just listen." Remus murmured in the background.

"But Remy he could be a Death Eater, one of _His_ followers!"

"Just let him explain, Padfoot, you know he wouldn't do anything to risk himself, he knows it would hurt you too much." Remus whispered into Sirius' ear, pulling him back to rest on his chest and letting Harry see both of their faces.

Remus looked at Harry and smiled, "Now, can you please explain to us why Draco Malfoy is with you, Cub?"

"I'm sorry Moony, Padfoot," Harry glanced towards Draco, checking whether it was okay to tell his family about Draco's situation. Draco nodded, slightly and waited for Harry to explain to the seething animagus held by the calm werewolf.

"He came through my window last night and–" Sirius snorted, interrupting Harry, but refrained from commenting. Harry glared at his Father before carrying on, "And he told me that he is a deserter. Draco was set a task by Voldemort," Draco flinched upon hearing the name, "But before that he was going to be Marked. Of course he didn't want to be put through that and I don't truly believe that he wanted to complete the task either. I have promised him protection, Padfoot. Draco cannot go back to the Dungeons, they would most likely bring him straight to Voldemort," Draco flinched once again upon hearing the name, but Harry still didn't take any notice of it. "And before you ask Sirius," Harry continued, seeing his Father's mouth open and knowing exactly what he was about to say, "I have seen his arm, Draco is not marked. It can't be hidden by a glamour either and I'm pretty sure that he is not an imposter."

Sirius leaned back into his lover and took the information in. Then, something hit him and his head abruptly shot up to look at his Pup. "How was he able to get through the Blood Wards? Anybody that is magical and not related to you can pass them."

Harry shook his head at Sirius, "That's the thing, Father; I don't think that there are or ever were Blood Wards around number 4 Privet Drive."

Both Sirius and Remus growled at that, they had been lied to about their Harry and they weren't going to allow that.

Harry realised that he had been talking to his Dad's best friends for too long all ready and glanced at the old analogue clock that sat on top of his desk, propped against the wall. When he saw that he was due to leave the house and catch the bus, he looked at Draco, briefly smiled and returned his attentions to the two growling lovers in the mirror.

"Erm, guys? I know this is bad timing and all, but we kind of need to end this conversation because Draco and I have to get to King's Cross." Harry said.

Sirius glared for a moment, but he knew that there was no way he could keep Harry for much longer so he just nodded, handed the mirror to Remus and walked away, muttering under his breath about foolish old goats.

"I'm sorry, Cub. I'll contact Minerva and ask if she would let us through her Floo without alerting Albus so that we can come and visit you. We'll finish off this talk then, okay?" Harry nodded to Remus, "Have a safe trip, Cub. We love you and we'll see you soon. Mischief managed." Remus whispered and the mirror once again reflected Harry's face.

Seeing Draco's face as they climbed onto the Muggle bus was absolutely hilarious. Harry had to take this method of transport that particular year as Dumbledore had informed him that he could not spare any Order members to escort him to the station. _Yeah, right. _He was sure that Remus and Sirius would have willingly taken him to the station, but after the close call in the Ministry at the end of the previous year, Harry was a bit apprehensive about risking the only true family that he had left.

_Bellatrix snarled at Harry and opened her mouth, Avada Kedavra starting to form on her lips. Harry had realised what she was about to do, but for some reason he could not move or raise his wand to defend himself, he was stuck. _

_"NOOOO!" Sirius shouted and flung himself towards Harry, pushing him out of the way of the blinding green light, shooting form the end of Bellatrix's wand._

_Broken out of the strange shock that he had momentarily been struck with, Harry looked up in time to see the green light begin to blaze out of the wand. Everything slowed down at that point. Harry knew that he had to get Sirius out of the line of fire; he could not lose anyone else._

_Flying at Sirius, Harry knocked them both off of the raised platform that held the strange arch. He turned back around to watch everything return to its true speed and the light shot through where his godfather had recently been standing and hit the arch instead._

_The arch exploded apart, shooting dust everywhere. The arch seemed like it had simply disintegrated and the foggy window morphed into one person that started to stalk towards the shocked Death Eater. _

_"Lily?" Sirius whispered from under Harry, causing him to whip his head back around and stare, wide-eyed, at the form of his translucent mother, stalking towards Bellatrix._

_Every single person in the room paused to turn and look at the shimmering woman on the platform. She had a look of rage on her face that was so severe that Bellatrix whimpered._

_"Not my son, you bitch!" Lily seethed, raising her transparent wand towards Bellatrix and opened her mouth to cast a spell._

_Seeing Lily's wand being raised caused Bellatrix to apparate out of the Department of Mysteries before Lily could even start the spell. _

_"M-mum?" Harry stuttered once all of the Death Eaters had followed Bellatrix's example and apparated out of the Ministry._

_Lily turned towards her disbelieving son and a grin lit up her ghostly features. "Yes, darling, it's really me. But I'm afraid that I will be pulled back into my own realm in a few moments. I just wanted to tell you that I'm proud of you, so is your Dad. We both love you very much, darling." Lily started to turn away and then looked back over her shoulder as she made her way back to where the arch had once stood, "Oh, and darling? You can trust Padfoot, Moony and the blond, but beware of the interfering old goat; nothing he does is in your favour." She whispered as she began to fade away again, leaving nothing behind._

Harry shook himself out of the memory as the bus stopped outside of King's Cross Station. Harry grabbed his trunk in one hand, Draco's arm in the other and made his way towards the building.

"I've never been in the Muggle way." Draco murmured to Harry, even he knew not to say Muggle loudly as they did not call themselves that.

"How did you get here every year then?" Harry asked, confused.

"Side-along apparition, of course."

Harry shook his head and thought that that would have been so much easier than the way that he normally arrived, surrounded by Order members and hustled through Muggles.

When they reached the wall that separated Platform 9 ¾ from the Muggle platforms, Harry did his usual praying that the wall would still be passable, unlike his second year. Draco noticed, but refrained from commenting on it and simply followed Harry through the wall, shivering as the charm rolled over and through him.

Harry looked at the train and sighed, the usual feeling of homecoming was absent because he knew that this was going to be the most exhausting year yet.


	3. Chapter 3: A Bit Of Rough And Tumble

**Chapter 3: A Bit of Rough and Tumble**

Harry hurried Draco through the train, attempting to make sure that hardly anybody noticed them together. As Harry herded Draco through the carriages he was looking through all of the compartments, trying to find an empty one.

They were obviously later than Harry had first thought as all of the compartments were full, every single one of them. Harry sighed, resigning himself to being in one with Ron and Hermione, as per usual.

Harry tugged Draco through the door and slammed it shut behind him, huffing out a frustrated breath of air. Hearing a strangled noise coming from behind him, Harry turned to see Ron, fingers wrapped around Draco's neck and squeezing.

"Wait! Ron, stop! Why the fuck are you strangling him?" Harry screamed, panic rising as he watched Draco's pale face turn from bright red to purple, hands scrambling to try and get free of the vice-like grip.

Seeing Ron's relentless expression, Harry raced over to them and ripped Ron's hands from their death grip around Draco's neck. The sudden release of the hands caused Draco to gasp, pulling all the oxygen that he could down into his lungs, and fall to the floor of the compartment. Harry knelt beside him and checked him over. Seeing that all was well, Harry gathered Draco into his arms and rocked him whilst the gasping slowly subsided.

Once Draco had full control of himself once again, Harry looked up from their position on the floor and glared at Ron.

"How dare you do that!" Harry screamed, causing Ron to blanch in fear. "What gives you the right to randomly strangle someone that was only walking into a compartment?!"

"Harry," Ron replied, gathering his courage, "It's Malfoy! What did you expect me to do?"

"I dunno, wait to hear why he had come in rather than strangle the bloke straight away? I was right behind him Ron! You couldn't have waited a few seconds for me to explain it?!" Harry fumed, letting go of Draco in favour of standing up to rant.

"I didn't know what he was going to do!" Ron exploded, "He could have come in here in place of his father to kill us and finish off what the Death Eater's tried to start at the Ministry last year! I was scared. Okay? I-I thought…I don't know what I thought, but ever since the end of last year I've been jumpy. I sometimes sit around just waiting for someone to get us or to see Bellatrix come back the way that your Mum did. But this time, instead of being saved, we would be killed," Ron took a deep breath and fleetingly thought to himself that it felt quite good to let out all of these previously bottled up things, "I'm sorry," he whispered, "I panicked. I'm sorry Draco, that was out of order." He finished, holding out a hand to help Draco up off of the floor where Harry had left him.

After staring dubiously at the hand for a few seconds, Draco decided to take it and was hauled up to standing by a strong arm; the grip on his hand disappeared immediately and Harry pulled Draco against him. Harry wrapped his arms around Draco's body, protectively. Draco leaned back into the heat, feeling safe for the first time since he woke that morning, in a similar position to the one that he was currently occupying.

There was a heavy silence that seemed so thick it was possible to choke on. Hermione, predictably, was the first to break the silence. "Okay, so why exactly is Malfoy here, Harry?" she asked, rather bluntly.

Harry looked to Draco for permission to tell the rest of the compartments inhabitants the whole story. After seeing, and feeling, Draco's nod Harry took a deep breath and began to tell the story of how Draco ended up in his bedroom the night before and why he was there. When Harry informed them that Draco was indeed a deserter and was no longer safe in the dungeons, Hermione stopped his tale by holding up her hand.

"What are you going to do?"

"Well," Harry looked to Draco for his permission and Draco nodded his consent once again, "I was thinking that maybe he could come and sleep in Gryffindor Tower–"

"No way!" Ron cut him off, "How could you even think that I would share a room with the ferret?!"

"Ronald Bilius Weasley! How could you even say such a thing, Draco's life could be in danger and you're still holding onto petty grudges? Shame on you!" Hermione exploded.

"So it's Draco now, is it? When did you start calling him by his first name, Hermione?!" Ron spat, jealousy oozing from him, "And how the bloody hell is his life going to be in danger? It's just a dorm room!"

"You know nothing Ronald. If he went back to the dungeons he would be a deserter amongst Death Eaters' children! They would not hesitate to bring him to Voldemort!"

Realisation crossed Ron's face, he finally understood why it was necessary to have a ferret in the same dorm room as him, but it didn't mean he had to like it. "Fine, 'Mione. I get it, but why did he come back here if he knew that he couldn't even set foot in the same dorm room as the other Snakes?"

"Because I told him that he shouldn't have to miss his sixth year," Harry said in a quiet, yet unmistakably dangerous voice, "Draco deserves to do his N.E. as much as the rest of us do."

"I–" Ron spluttered.

"Don't. Just don't Ron," Harry said before he dragged Draco over to the bench and sat down with him on his lap, stroking his hair tenderly.

"Harry," a low voice whispered in his ear, "C'mon Harry, we're here now, you've gotta wake up." This time the voice was accompanied by a soft shaking of his shoulders.

Slowly, the green orbs blinked open, trying to rid themselves of the heavy sleepiness. Feeling a firm, but not necessarily unpleasant, weight in his arms, Harry looked down to find that he still held Draco. He stared into those smiling grey eyes for what felt like an eternity, but could have only been at most a few minutes in reality.

"You can let go of me now," Draco whispered, breaking the calming silence that had settled around them.

Harry blushed as he loosened his grip on Draco's body, "Oh, right. Sorry."

"It's fine, I enjoyed being held," Draco reassured, stroking Harry's hair away from the strikingly green eyes, "We do have to get off the train now, however, as we have arrived in Hogsmeade."

"Really?" Harry spluttered in disbelief, "I slept the whole way?" After seeing Draco's nod he realised that it did make sense as, even though they had only fallen asleep together twice, he always seemed to sleep better when he was near Draco. "Wow. Okay then, let's go!" Harry said, a huge grin plastered across his face as he dragged Draco from the train and towards the awaiting carriages.

Seeing the old castle out of the window of the carriage made the home-coming bittersweet. It also said a lot about his home life, after all, he felt safer here, where he had been almost killed every year, than at home that held his 'family'. No matter how many attempts were made on his life or how many manipulative old bastards were in charge of the school, it would always be his first home.

Glancing at Draco, Harry saw that he felt exactly the same upon seeing the looming castle; ultimately it was the only place that either of them had left to call home. Harry was brought out of his potentially depressing reverie when Draco grasped his hand and gently squeezed. Seeing his thoughts mirrored in Draco's eyes, Harry smiled. They stayed that way, hands clasped and bathed in a comforting silence, until they stopped in front of the intimidatingly large front doors.

Harry squeezed Draco's hands once before letting go and clambering out of the carriage. Draco followed right behind him and then they both made their way up to the Great Hall, surreptitiously checking for any potential threats along the way. After all, with a Dark Lord after the both of them, they couldn't be too careful.


End file.
